Last week’s Herald had a front page story on the deer situation in Solebury Township. After reading that article, we need to take this opportunity to correct the record.
Some background first: Solebury Township has a deer problem. It is not a new problem. But it has gotten worse over the years. The impacts include Lyme disease, vehicle collisions, decimation of farmlands, and the loss of the understory fundamental to a healthy environment for our residents and other animal species.
We have in place a Deer Management Program. However, that alone has not enabled us to make any headway in the overpopulation problem. According to the recent infrared drone flyover of the township, Solebury Township has 10 times the maximum number of deer the environment can handle.
Our board of supervisors has heard two presentations from a deer population expert and has decided to act in accordance with his recommendations for reducing the deer population through a culling.
In the article last week, a resident stated that hunters tend to target bucks over does, dump carcasses in 55-gallon drums, and that the township should opt for birth control and fencing over a culling. Here are the facts:
- The emphasis in our Deer Management Program is on mature female deer and in fact 73% of the deer taken by our hunters have been adult does.
- Any culling would require that all deer carcasses must be processed and the venison taken to a charitable organization for distribution to those in need.
Mark Baum Baicker, Chair Solebury Township Board of Supervisors
Eric Allen, Chair Solebury Township Environmental Advisory Council
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